"Old Scrooge" (1923) - Part 1

"Old Scrooge" (1923)
Director" Leedham Bantock
Scrooge: Seymour Hicks

Next on our Scrooge radar is the American 1926 Pathé release "Old Scrooge" starring the noted Sir Seymour Hicks!

This is case of unintentional truth in advertising as the "Old" part of the title was added to the British film of 1913, the 1926 version being some sort of repackage.

I'm not sure if the original 1913 British film still exists, but at least we have this reissue print to give us a chance to see a younger Seymour Hicks, who, of course, would later star in the 1935 British film "Scrooge."

This probably makes him to play actor to star in both a silent and sound version of "A Christmas Carol."

Sir Seymour had been playing Scrooge on stage since 1901, so he was used to the part by 1913, but the limitations imposed upon him by this movie don’t give him the chance to really show his stuff.

Still, he really remains the main (only?) point of interest here, as the movie is pretty run-of-the-mill if you’ve seen other silent versions.

His 1935 “talkie” better represents him as Scrooge, I think, but it is kind of cool to see him in footage from 22 years earlier.

I’m not sure if the 1926 version (“Old Scrooge”) is available online, but you can get it on DVD for pretty cheap if you’re interested. But consider yourself warned!

Next, we’ll break the thing down…